Now, there’s a profoundly thoughtful guy called Ram Dass, who has spent most of a lifetime thinking about this stuff (after he finished hanging out with Timothy Leary & doing a ton of acid). He’s interviewed in a thoroughly excellent documentary called Ecstatic States, and he has this to say on the subject:

Interviewer: Could you tell us exactly what karma is?

No. *laughs* That take care of that question?

You could say it’s.. uhh.. It’s a very complex concept of cause-and-effect. What it says is, if you drop a pebble into a clear pond. There’ll be all these little waves going out and out and out. And even though you could almost see them stop, with your naked eye, if you looked at it with technical equipment, you’d see that the thing keeps going and going and going.

So what it’s saying is that every action starts a sequence of events. And then who we are at any moment is determined by all the events we’ve started in the past that are reverberating into us now, over time. Over lots of time.

It’s your karma, meaning it’s the previous causal forces that are creating this particular effect. So if you look at your life, and if you have a larger sense of who you are than your physical body. I’m talking about reincarnation, or the whole idea that an individual’s soul goes through birth after birth after birth. Each birth is determined by the karmic residue of all the previous births. Then in a birth, you are living out the karma created by the previous births. Now, as you awaken more, most people are not only living out the old karma, but they keep creating new karma all the time, which keeps propelling them into the future, more and more.

To be free means to be free of this kind of karmic law that you’re just being a mechanical run-off of. So, the beginning of awakening means that you no longer create new karma, because you see how karma’s created (which is another little discussion). And then you’re just running off old karma. So a lot of the beings you see are people that have awakened sufficiently so that they don’t create any new karma, and then they’re in a body, or they continue their work, like the inertia from the past, until it runs out.

Interviewer: How do you not create new karma?

By the awareness no longer being identified with the motivation. It is the desire that creates karma. It doesn’t mean you don’t have the desires, it means your awareness is not identified with the desires. You still do what you do, but you’re not caught in being attached to the doing of it. Which is kind of sneaky, because when you’re not attached, it changes what happens.

1. How do we stop old karma from continuing to screw up our lives? 2. How do we, practically, stop creating new karma?

Here’s where everything gets a little speculative.

From what I’ve seen in my own life, I’m pretty sure that by healing (eg, using EFT) anything bad that happens to us (including negative thoughts, emotions, feelings), we short circuit our karmic looping of old problems. This seems a proactive way of doing what Ram Dass describes as “running off old karma”.

EFT isn’t the only way of doing this, of course. I know people that use falling still, yoga, chanting, eating raw food, meditation, and so on, to achieve the same end (or, hell, all of the above!). As Buddha says, “There are many fingers pointing at the moon, but only one moon.”

So, if this helps to speed up getting rid of old karma, how do we also stop creating new karma? (otherwise we’re going to be chasing our own tail a bit here)

“Not being identified with the desires” or “not being attached to the doing” is fair enough, but how do you actually do that, without spending 30 years sitting on a mountain top somewhere?

Well, let’s look at it a subtly different way. Anytime we react angrily, that’s got to increase our karma, right? Similarly then, if we act from any other emotions. The only exception would be coming from a place of pure peace. If we have a still mind, and an open heart, that would have to be a place from which no new karma would be generated. It meets both Ram Dass’ & wikipedia’s criteria. Action without attachment.

How to reach that place of still mind & open heart? Is it perhaps unsurprising that the healing tools listed above seem to coincidentally result in exactly these outcomes?

Does that mean these tools will take you to a place of nirvana? Reduce all your karma to zero & have you strumming a harp on a cloud? I couldn’t possibly say. It’s a complicated thing that people have been thinking & arguing about for thousands of years. All I can say is from where I stand now, these seem like good steps to be taking in more or less the right direction.

Less attachment & suffering in this life, fewer karmic echoes in the next.

Share:

October 15, 2008

Aikido these days seems to involve (since there is often only two of us students) Sensei throwing one of us until we’re so exhausted we can’t stand, then throwing the other of us until we’re so exhausted they can’t stand. Then he goes back to the first person..

So, after an hour of that, I biked around the city in circles for another hour in order to go bouldering (I was following someone who wasn’t particularly sure where they were going.)

The odd thing is, even though we were basically still in the central city, down by the river we could have been miles out in the country. It looked like this:

.. except even more picturesque. I would have got pics of the prettier bit, but I was too busy trying to keep up with my climbing buddies, Tom & Yeshe, on their flash new bikes. For some reason it’s buy-a-new-bike-week, and nobody told me. Hmph.

Anyway, the bouldering spot was this totally excellent wall under a railway bridge: Lots of awesome crimps, tricky footwork, a ton of variety, lots of vertical movement required to traverse.. FUN!

The kind of spot where you can move a couple of feet left or right & hit a totally different grade. It was awesome.

Oh, I almost got hit in the head by an egg, thrown by a passing car (apparently it’s the kind of thing that happens around here), but my awesome powers of magical egg deflection protected me. Not so lucky the pavement (or the wall, but it didn’t hit any of the holds, so hey, who cares, right?)

Anyway, we got an hour or so there before it got too dark to see, then biked back along the river. This was pretty awesome. It’s a chunk of the river I’ve never seen before, including these nifty jetties that are pretty much there just for the cyclists. The first one was confusing (we got lost), but after that we got the hang of them:

Not so complicated really. Looks like it’s for boats – but it’s not! I rode along about 10 of these in an 8km stretch. Super cute!

On the way we also stumbled across an actual designated bouldering zone. Wtf? Yes, it’s true. There were three walls there, ranging from easy (vertical) to medium (slight overhang) to hard (extreeeeme overhang. Ok, it wasn’t a roof, but still, it all helps). Plastic holds on wood, but tons to choose from. Here’s what climbers look like at night:

Umm, yes, that’s more or less normal behaviour. Climbers have a special gene hidden from the rest of the population. Emphasis on ‘special’.

Here’s what the river looked like right by that second bouldering spot:

And this was wayyyy closer to the city. Crazy, I know. I was a touch concerned about standing on a snake, since I had to venture into long grass to take this shot, & everything was pitch black (this camera is insane in low light), but hey, both my ankles are intact. Australian snake population: 0. Si: 1.

So that was fun. We played there for a while, then I left the other guys & continued along the river. The great thing was, even though chunks of the ride were near a motorway, you could hardly tell, it was just so damn beautiful:

I also passed this:

I have no idea what that means.

I tell you what though. There really are uglier places to be than this:

Also nifty was getting to bike past one of my favourite art installations in Melbourne, the weirdo bells (probably not their official name):

All these bells on sticks are controlled by computer, and every hour or so they play whatever piece they’re currently programmed with. They’re all different pitches, and it’s kinda crazy to be surrounded by them all going nuts at once.

Also neat – finding a new walk bridge I didn’t know existed:

I arrived home super exhausted, aching, bruised and thoroughly happy.

Share:

October 15, 2008

I was catching up on some light reading this morning – reading The Economist (the funniest magazine I know), when I came across this article, which points out that physical displays of pride & shame are hardwired at an evolutionary level. Ie, they’re not learned behaviours. This was discovered by watching athletes that were blind from birth – and thus had no chance to watch others & learn patterns.

So, when shamed in loss, their posture slumps, they hide their faces & narrow their chests.

In victory, they raise their arms, expand their chests, & tilt their heads back. Like this:

(although I suspect the shirts off & veiny thing is optional)

I found this interesting because one of the subtle things we learn at Aikido is to expand our chests & keep our heads up. I’d always figured this was just a posture thing – if you look down, it pulls tension into the shoulders & you go off balance. Expanding the chest leads to a more opening feeling, expansive rather than contracting energy, and so on.

But perhaps there’s more to it than that?

There have been many studies, going back to Riskind (1984) and perhaps earlier that link posture & depression. It’s common knowledge that you can cheer yourself the hell up just by adjusting your posture (eg, this,or this)

but just how far can you take this?

So I thought hey – let’s give this a shot. I went for a walk in full on victory pose. Chest opened & puffed out (almost), head tilted slightly back – although not so far I fell over. Umm, no, I kept my arms down. Don’t need to get arrested for being a complete loony (it’s supposed to be a secret – don’t tell anyone)

The funny thing is, I was already feeling pretty incredibly good this morning. Confident, happy, on top of the world. The sun was definitely shining on planet Si.

Now, when I walk I have a real tendency to get thoughtful, and thus look down. And yet after a 20 minute walk around town, consciously adjusting my posture anytime I felt it slip back ..I felt.. how could it be.. even more incredible?

I don’t know how that’s possible, but I highly recommend giving it a go – particularly if you’re already feeling a bit beneath the weather to start with.

I’m also beginning to think that part of the reason for doing it in Aikido is a combination of these two quotes from the founder, Morihei Ueshiba:

“A good stance and posture reflect a proper state of mind.”

and

“Aikido can be summed up like this: True victory is self-victory”

Ie, perhaps it’s internal, not external victory that really matters in the end – and by adjusting your physical posture, you ensure mental & spiritual victory.

This whole brain/mind/body connection really is an incredibly interesting thing.

We’d just been settling the bill – discussing the relative merits of bottled vs freshly squeezed juice (the juicer at our cafe had broken the previous week) when a beep came through on my rattly old phone. Whoever it was could wait, I only had a few minutes more before we parted ways.

I’m painfully aware of the limited time we have together – him too soon off to Germany, or perhaps Japan, in search of dressage glory for his wife. Me off to who knows where who knows when. Perhaps another year or maybe two. Perhaps only another week. Neither of us really knows, or really can. Life is fickle like that.

Regardless, each Saturday morning I’m reminded of our relative frailties in time & space, and once more, I sit down to treasure our time together.

Eventually, bill settled, goodbyes said – him off to the Hill of Content (a local bookstore) to check for the latest spy thriller, me off to haggle with local retailers, I’m crossing Exhibition Street in downtown Melbourne when I finally check my phone.

I stop in the middle of the street, stunned. I look right – roadworks. No cars. Ok.

Summoning up 17 years of education, a love of language & all the compassion I can muster I reply to my Dad:

Oh shit.

Confident this has comforted him enormously, I’m left to wonder: Now what?

I spin on my heels. Back to the bookshop, find Ralph. He looks up, surprised.

“I just got a text message that my Grandad has died. Can I have a hug?”

Ralph’s thirty years older than me. He’s seen a lot of the world. Silently he reaches out with both arms, embraces me deeply. I sink into him, mind spinning.

All too soon, it’s over, and I’m left to stumble blankly out into the street. Mumbling my thanks I continue mindlessly on my errands. Pick up a camera from the repair shop. Now what?

Surely checking my mail can’t be the most useful thing I could be doing now?

But I barely knew him!

Maybe you should call home.

What could I possibly say?

Am I going to burst into tears right now?

How do I feel.

Numb.

That’ll be shock.

What am I shocked about? I knew he was sick for ages.

But he was your Grandad.

Oh shit.

I go home.

On a whim I pick up a coffee. I very rarely drink it these days, so it’s an odd choice. Maybe it seems right to kick myself in the brain for a bit. Hopefully take some of the shock away.

It doesn’t work, just gives me the jitters. Tastes ok, but now I’m mildly stressed and in shock. Mental note: don’t trust brain in times of shock.

None of this is a surprise. All of this is information I had before I got on the phone.

I’m still struggling to remember anything about Grandad. He took me fishing when I was 10. Or was that Grandma? It was both of them.

Oddly, Dad & I start talking about spirit possession. We’re using different terminology – he mentions a ‘jezabel spirit’, I thinking ‘entity’, but it’s the same stuff.

This is not the Dad I know. We’ve never talked about anything close to this before.

I guess grief does weird things to people.

I remember 11 years ago. My littlest brother was in a bad accident. A really bad accident. The kind of accident that has 4 police cars, 2 ambulances, a firetruck & a helicopter land on your front lawn.

I wish I was making this up.

I got a call from the now very much loved husband of my sister – then the dubiously regarded boyfriend. He’d been calling everyone he could think of while Mum flew with my brother in the helicopter to the hospital. Any doubts anyone might have had about him disappeared like a snowflake in a flash fire that day. Somehow he kept his head about him while everything else exploded, including the family.

I remember running out of my house in the city carrying a magazine, a woollen jersey & a meat pie. All I could think was that hospitals were cold, boring & had bad food. An odd time that a meat pie would be considered “good food”, but still. I jumped on a bus to the hospital. The brother I barely knew being heli-lifted to the intensive care burns unit & that’s not important enough to warrant a taxi? Mental note: don’t trust brain in times of shock.

In some odd twist of fate I managed to beat the helicopter there. Life is fickle like that. I ran around the hospital in terror trying to find my Mum. Trying to find my brother. I knew I couldn’t do anything, but thought maybe, somehow, me being there might help Mum. I didn’t know. I just knew being there was important.

Eventually I found them. I’d managed to get there even before they sedated him. “It was an accident” he said, “I don’t blame anyone.”

Six years old. Third degree burns to 60% of his body, and that’s what he has to say. Some kid.

That’s all he says. They sedate him, poke six tubes into him, and post three nurses on 24 hour guard. For a week. Two weeks. Nobody will say whether they think he’ll live or die. We can’t even get percentages. They flat out refuse to say. He’s in a coma the entire time.

I see more of my brother in that time than I have his entire life until then.

I guess that’s what happens when you leave home before they’re born.

Weird way to get to know someone. We’re still not terribly close. I don’t blame anyone. That’s what happens.

He spends three months in intensive care. Mum spends the entire time with him in the hospital. Eventually, a lifetime later, he’s released. There’s followup treatment, of course, and the scars will never go away, but he’s alive, and, strangely, incredibly healthy. More than healthy. He’s one of the most well rounded, well adjusted kids I’ve ever met.

I can’t figure it out.

Mum has a theory. She says there were so many people praying for him. Friends. Friends of friends. People we never even knew. All of them praying for that little kid – that huge outpouring of positive energy towards him just healed him of any crap he might have had.

When you meet him it’s hard to argue with that theory.

I still can’t remember anything about Grandad.

No, I remember the last time I met him. It was briefly, so briefly. I was just flying through town & he was at my parent’s house. Purely by accident. It was awkward. Beyond awkward. I could feel him trying to reach out for me. I was in some pointlessly childish self-important phase, running about doing God knows what. God cares what.

He looked so much older than I remembered. He must have been 75 by then. He just looked so worn out by life. Trying desperately to connect with someone he barely knew. I pitied him. Pitied the life he’d had, the pain he’d been through, how old he’d become. I brushed him off. My own flesh & blood, & I brushed him off. Children can be so callous. Even into their late 20’s.

I ask Dad a question: “Dad, I can I ask you a question?”

“Sure”

I ask him another: “Do you think it’s worthwhile me coming over?”

He thinks. “I have absolutely no idea”

Well, that backfired. I’m in shock. I’m not trusting my brain.

I make a random decision. If I can find a flight for under eight hundred bucks, I’ll go.

I don’t know why, I just think that maybe, somehow, being there might help Mum. She adored Stan. I adore her.

I hang up, promising to call back. Get to the travel agents across the road, negotiate a flight. There are two options. Stupidly expensive direct flights, or half the price with a stopover. It involves spending the night in Christchurch airport. I choose the cheaper of the two, despite the horrible stop-over. Christchurch is notoriously cold & who wants to spend a night on an airport floor? It’s $794.

I guess I’m going.

It’s the typical thing with bereavements. You get the news. Life stops. For everyone, not just those who’ve left.

Now her I can remember. I could talk about her, my Dad’s Mum, for weeks.

I remember how she used to smile at me, so understandingly. I remember what sports she used to play (bowls & golf). That she always wore makeup (helped keep the sun off, she said). That she used to keep mints in her car. The kind of car she had (a little beige two door manual Mitsubishi Colt). How she used to make the most delicious juice imaginable by buying two different kinds of premade juice & mixing them together. How she never swore. Her backbone, her towering strength & her love. Her ferocious love.

I remember spending time with her, listening to the cicadas outside & feeling that all was right in the world. Even though I only got to fly from New Zealand to Australia and see her a couple of times, I loved every second with her.

I remember hearing about how she slipped over when putting groceries in her car one day. How she broke her hip. How she went from being out & about every day of the week – chairing this, organising that, racing all over town – to bed ridden.

Life is fickle like that.

I remember knowing she was sick. In hospital. Unable to get out. No doubt frustrated beyond belief.

I was at university, a country & a giant ocean away. I’d just started. Trying to find my way in the world.

I remember being frustrated myself. Wanting to write to her, but not knowing what I could possibly say that would help.

“I’m sorry you’re sick”?

I said that last time. I don’t want to repeat myself.

I didn’t want to just talk about what I was up to. That sounded.. useless. Selfish. No help to anyone. And besides, what would I say? “Today I had lectures.” Ugh. Terrible.

Month after month went by. The guilt built up. As did the unwritten letters.

In my mind, somehow all this would resolve itself. She’d get better. She was strong, she was amazing. I remembered.

And then one day I got the call. That call. The one you always dread.

Well, almost.

She’d stopped taking food.

By that point she’d deteriorated so far they were feeding her with a spoon. She had no body movement, could barely see.

Letters were being read to her. What letters she received.

Eventually, she’d made up her mind. Whenever they tried to feed her, she gritted her teeth. Determined, proud to the end. She’d had enough. It was the only part of her body left that she had any control over, the only power she had left, and by God, she was going to exercise it.

I phoned the hospital. I didn’t know what to say, but it seemed important that I call.

“I love you Nan Nan.”

How late we realise I could have sent her letters saying nothing more than that, and that would have been enough. That would have been what she’d wanted to hear. All I needed to do.

“I’m getting on a plane to see you. So is Dad. We’ll be there tomorrow.”

So we did. The money sorted itself out – it always does in these situations.

Tomorrow we arrived.

She’d died in the night.

Proud to the end, she hadn’t wanted us to see her like that.

She wanted us to remember her for what she was, not what she’d been reduced to.

She looked beautiful, as always, just how I remembered her, in the funeral parlour. I had a few minutes alone with her. I said some words, I don’t remember what. The thought occurred to kiss her goodbye, but I didn’t.

There was a veil over the coffin, & I worried. What if I’m not allowed to? What if I get in trouble?

I want to express a simple act of farewell to someone I loved with all my heart, & I’m worried about getting in trouble? Grief does weird things to people.

I never did kiss her goodbye.

The funeral progressed, as these things do. Words were said. Things eaten & drunk, & everyone dispersed once more to the corners of the globe.

I remember my Grandad was a whizz at crosswords. He tried to get me into them, but it never really stuck. I love words though, love wordplay, & language.

Maybe that came from him.

I remember him telling me once about how he’d been in the second world war. About being in the blitz in London, with the air raid shelters & all. About how Frank Sinatra had managed to escape conscription because off his mob connections.

I think he resented Frank a little, but it made for a great story.

At 10 I barely knew who Frank Sinatra was, but that didn’t matter. I would eventually. I do now.

I got back from the travel agents. A friend offered to give me a lift to the airport. Keep me company.

I put my collection of everything ol’ blue eyes ever sung on the stereo & started to try and get organised.

I wasn’t flying to New Zealand for the funeral. My Grandad was in Adelaide, Australia.

I was flying over for Mum.

I checked the weather. A bit colder. Ten degrees. Think. THINK!

I end up stuffing way too many shirts in a bag. Not much else.

My friend arrives.

We sit on the couch. I drink some water. Try & fail to remember something, anything about my Grandad.

How can someone who’s a part of my life be so unknown to me?

How is someone who cared about me able to be so distant? How can that happen?

I give up.

I don’t think I feel any grief, although I feel something. I can’t identify it.

Maybe it is grief.

I haven’t had many people near me die. Not yet. Everyone does eventually though. If they live long enough themselves.

I feel numb, but underneath I can feel something else. It doesn’t feel like it belongs to me. I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s Mum’s. We’re pretty close, in an odd kind of way.

I go back to packing, & eventually I manage to throw out some shirts. Throw in a phone charger. Whatever else is required. Maybe. But really, who cares? It’s just important I’m there.

My bag still won’t close. Now what?

I used to be good at this. This packing thing.

I still haven’t cried, but my brain doesn’t seem to be working very well. Maybe it’s the coffee. Yeah, that’ll be it.

My friend helps. Thank God there’s someone here still functional.

I eat about twenty bananas, since they will have gone off by the time I get back. Somehow I still feel empty inside.

We drive to the airport, get stuck behind a slow moving tram. It’s past check in time, and we’re still driving. For some reason I just don’t care.

What is that, that feeling?

I still can’t pick it.

I rush into the terminal to find an empty desk. Somehow between buying the ticket four hours ago and now, the plane has been delayed an hour.

Somehow everyone else in the world heard about it except me.

I check in anyway.

We head to a bar. On a whim I order a Guinness. I very rarely drink these days, so it’s an odd choice. Maybe it seems right to kick myself in the brain for a bit. Hopefully it will take some of the shock away. It doesn’t work. I tell myself it’s not for me, it’s for Stan. For Grandad.

I can’t remember if he drank or not.

I figure in the army he probably did, and that’s good enough. Right now, that’s good enough.

With every sip, I say to myself, “This is for you, Grandad” & send my thoughts out to him, and huge waves of gunk pour off me.

I’m healing myself as fast as I can, but it doesn’t seem to be helping. My friend looks concerned.

Maybe that just isn’t how you deal with these things. I don’t know. I really don’t.

Where does sadness fit into all that? Or crying? Maybe it’s in the psychologist footnotes.

I have another sip. Try to remember anything about Grandad. Maybe if I could say something about him, that would help. All I can remember is that he was a super nice guy. Incredibly nice, but that hardly seems enough for 90 plus years of living.

Nice? I always used to hate that word. I’ve mellowed with age, but mellowed to the point where I’m using it to sum up the life of a relative? Someone who lived almost 3 times longer than I have? There must be something wrong with that. With me maybe. Who knows.

I still can’t remember anything meaningful about him.

I remember that my friend is a psychologist, but it doesn’t seem to help. As they point out, they can’t help me grieve, but they can help me get to the airport. I thank them anyway. It’s about all I feel capable of doing.

We talk about God knows what. I’m not really listening.

I’ve deliberately chosen a seat facing a corner of the bar. I figure maybe having a beer will let me cry. Or whatever it is I’m supposed to do.

It doesn’t, and instead I wander, alone, through security & onto the plane. Now what?

Plane goes up. Plane comes down.

Now here I am. It’s 4am in the morning. I couldn’t sleep. I just don’t have enough padding on my bones to sleep on a concrete floor, although many people here seem able to.

I don’t think anyone is really listening, but I find it strangely compelling. How does a buildng become an entity? Why the need to inform us that the airport was conscious of anything? What on earth will they do when buildings have autonomous brains and really are conscious?

I think the flourescent lights, lack of sleep & more stimulants than I’ve had in forever are messing with my mind.

Right now all I know is that I feel like I’ve been wedged behind these rubbish bins, trying & failing to sleep forever. The night has stretched on, and the freezing air is burning my legs every time the doors flick open from outside.

In a couple of hours I might have a shower.

It seems important that I arrive tomorrow freshly shaved. I don’t know why. Maybe so I don’t scratch Mum when I hug her.

Oddly, finally I’m crying. Have been for the last few hours. There are people walking around, but I don’t care. It just doesn’t seem important.

There’s still one airport to go, but the flight doesn’t leave until seven.

I still can’t figure out what I should do. Should I just heal myself of this pain? Is it even mine? Isn’t grieving supposed to be healthy? Shouldn’t I just let it take its course?

I just don’t know. I have no experience in these things.

All I know is that I probably shouldn’t trust my brain. And that grief does weird things to people. And that I could use a hug.

I remember now, after all this, that Grandad was a similar size to me. Mum says I have his bone structure. He was endlessly patient, an incredibly gentle soul. Maybe these choices I’ve been making, all this healing I’ve done, this path I’m on, I’m becoming more like him. I think I might be ok with that. That might be meaningful. Maybe he might be ok with that too.

And getting on this last plane to Wellington. That maybe, somehow, me being there might help Mum. I don’t know. I just know being there is important.